The True Face Behind This Mask
by Fere will keep you alive
Summary: Knight-Captain Kella and her motley crew have been trapped by the King of Shadows and Garius. A dramatic entrance and a dark plan ensue as one reveals all. I may do a sequel, if you ask nicely.


The battle was over as quickly as it had started

The battle was over as quickly as it had started. Kella stared at the corpses of Garius, Sand, the constructs, and assorted other demons. She smirked and mused to herself.

The portal thrashed. The King of Shadows was about to emerge.

She addressed her companions "Is everybody okay?" no-one answered; they could all see the crazy wickedness on Kella's face.

"Kella, are _you_ okay?" Casavir approached her cautiously, his hand on his hammer, shield in hand. That was when Kella began to laugh. Casavir had heard her laugh plenty of times, mostly at Grobnar, but this was something new, it was a wild cackle, evil and malevolent, "Kella…?" this time Casavir's baritone voice carried apprehension and fear.

"Hahaha, my dear Casavir. You always were SUCH A PUSHOVER!" Kella grinned spitefully at him, and snorted, "I can't believe you never noticed! You really think I loved you? Ha! YOU, my dear paladin, are going to remain down here for the rest of you life, which is going to be very short."

"Kella, what are you talking about, the King of Shadows is coming, we don't have time!" Neeshka half spat, half sobbed.

"Know that she has-"Zhjaeve was cut off by a dagger protruding from her chest. After a moment it disappeared, and she crumpled to the floor to be replaced by Bishop.

"Here it is, THE GRAND FINALE! You bozos really thought that _I_ was on _your_ side? Only one of you sensed it before the battle, so let's all give a hand to Ammon Jerro, the 'supposed' genius of demons. That was exactly why he tried to kill me, and why I gave him a little memory wipe. You think you know everything there is to know just because you spent twenty years of your life in the Hells? I spent thousands there! But no, I can't possibly know anything, I'm just a dirty little Harborman from the pits, right? Well then, meet my latest creation," Kella flourished one hand towards the raging portal, while simultaneously flourishing the other towards her dazed companions. "The KING OF SHADOWS!" Her companions watched in horror as out of the portal stepped a huge monster, aptly dubbed the King of Shadows. "I suppose, before I kill you all, you want to know what happened up until now? What I did to make you all be about to die?! What I plan to do after!?" Bishop stalked smugly towards Kella.

"We…are going to rule, now. We'll say that you all perished trying to destroy Kella's thrall."

"And if you morons _do_ manage to kill it, I'll make more! But I guess that what you really want is a history lesson? Well, twenty-one years ago, two women, both living in West Harbor, both went into labor. One gave birth to a seemingly harmless boy, and he was named Bishop. The other gave birth to an equally seemingly harmless girl, who would be called Kella. One year after this, destruction was brought to the little village. An up-and-coming warlock who just happened to be in the town had taken the front to fighting the horde of shadows off. In his bloodlust he killed a woman, Bishop's mother. He also, accidentally killed Kella's own mother. It was a whole twelve years after that, when Kela and Bishop were both thirteen, that Kella realized her true power. She got her full memory back, she may have been born from two humans, and look entirely human, but beneath the surface, in her previous life she was a powerful demon. She was fascinated by the races below, living in uneasy harmony. She had once visited there, thousands of years ago, to Illefarn, and she had quietly given a dwarf the means to create her perfect thrall, the result of which you see before you. I have been plotting this for millennia. I will start by ruling Neverwinter, then Luskan, then the rest of the Sword Coast, improving it, slowly bending them to my will!"

"And when we kill you, we shall return to this world we are creating. Kella has seen the history of the Sword Coast reveal itself. Becoming a tyrant does nothing. In order to rule well, you need your citizens to not fear or question you, if you do that, you ensure success. Kella and I shall rule, unchallenged. You see, paladin? I win. You lose."

"Why, Kella? Why?" Neeshka was in tears, her best friend had turned on them completely.

"WHY? I told you why, you pathetic tiefling, and if you couldn't be bothered to listen, it's your own fault. Because you will die here, today. Guardian. Kill them." Kella snapped her fingers and the King of Shadows/Guardian shrank slightly so to better attack her former companions, it then lunged forward, with surprising speed, and sunk its twin blades into the chests of Neeshka and Qara. It swung around and decapitated Ammon Jerro, then Khelgar. They never had a chance. In a few short moments the corpses of all of Kella's former companions littered the floor. All but one. Casavir, in his rejected rage, was actually putting up a decent fight. Kella sighed. "Guardian. Stop. My dear Casavir, give it up. You will die. Stop resisting."

The portal suddenly thrashed and out of it poured three dozen Greycloaks, Kana, Bevil and Sir Nevalle.

"Kill Kella, she's gone crazy!" shouted Casavir, dropping to his knees in exhaustion from the battle. The Greycloaks looked at Kela, then at Bishop, then at Casavir, then back to Kella.

"Oh, whatever." Kella groaned and swept one of her hands in the general direction of the arrivals. Their faces were blank for a few moments, then all but Sir Nevalle knelt down to Kella, and she announced: "Casavir has been corrupted by The King of Shadows, he killed my other companions when they tried to stop him. Greycloaks, kill him." The Greycloaks did as instructed, Kella muttered under her breath "Guardian. Howl in pain, then die". The King of Shadows did as instructed, as he had always done.

Kela and Bishop returned as the sole survivors of the battle. A week after, they knelt in Nasher's throne room. They told him a fabricated version of the events, how Bishop had killed Garius, and redeemed himself, how the King of Shadows turned Casavir into an avatar for power, and had slain Kella's companions, but could not bring himself to kill Kella. They said that the King of Shadows had poured all him power into Casavir, and when the Greycloaks had killed him, they had also killed the King.

Nasher greatly rewarded them for their efforts, he donated a large amount of money and Greycloaks to Crossroad Keep to go towards rebuilding. Nasher also admitted that Kella had become like a daughter to him, and he had left the throne to her. A few months later, Lord Nasher gently passed away in his sleep. With a dagger in his back.

Kella rose to power, and with Bishop at her right hand, they took over Luskan, and by an 'accident' by an 'unknown individual', a shop in Luskan had caught fire. The whole city was ablaze within an hour. It was the purging fire, and that Luskan would be rebuilt anew, under Neverwintian rule. Not one Neverwinter citizen complained, their hate and bloodlust to see Luskan defeated and dead was fulfilled.

In time, Kella became loved by her people, and when the improvements to the Mere had been finished, her people began to prosper.


End file.
